She Ran Away
by haileewrites
Summary: Gale is surprised to meet the mayor's daughter in the forest. One-shot.


**Disclaimer: Nope, my name is Hailee, not Suzanne.**

**Set probably just weeks before the 74th Hunger Games. Gale & Katniss never brought Madge strawberries. Be kind! It's my first story/one-shot ever.**

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Who _is_ this girl?

Gale couldn't seem to stop watching her every move like some curious predator waiting to strike. He's never seen her before. At first he thought she was Catnip, but this one had long blonde hair whipping about and was a little shorter. He knows the woods by heart. He's been to every spring, climbed on every tree, stepped on every expanse, ruling out the farthest areas that were way too dangerous for anyone.

But why is this the first time he's seen her? _Maybe she's from another district? _Yeah, right.

She didn't appear lost. Actually, it looked like she was looking for something, hunting. Even had a bow although missing an arrow. He wonders what she might've caught for a moment until his thoughts are interrupted by a soft but confident voice he thinks he's heard before.

"There are lots better ways of spending a cool afternoon out in the forest than to just hide and stare at some girl, don't you think?"

His eyebrows shoot up as she turns to face him and he is incontestably dumbstruck by whose wide enchanting blue eyes he sees. _No way. _She puts down the bow, crossing her arms and leaning on a hemlock tree. "I mean, I get it, you're curious since you've never really seen me here before but you know, what's to lose by saying 'hi'?"

He continuously examines her inquiringly and she's apparently irritated, reaching for the bow and stalking off. Gale realizes this and calls for her. "Wait!" The mayor's daughter stops and turns around, probably expecting an apology, though she won't be getting one.

"What are you doing here?" he asks, a little too harshly. Just a little.

"I don't think that's any of your business." She says as her eyes narrow.

"Oh, actually, it is."

"You don't even know who I am."

"Course I do. You're the pretty little daughter of Mayor Undersee." He catches a pained look on her face for a second. "Now what the hell are you doing out here in the woods, which is by the way illegal to enter."

"Same thing you're doing."

"Hunting for my starving family? I don't think so." He retorts. She opens her mouth to say something, but then swallows and thinks of another comeback.

"Look, why don't you just go away? How's that sound?" She says instead.

"Well, I wasn't the one who acknowledged your presence so..."

"I wasn't the one staring."

"I wasn't staring." He glowers.

"Yeah, whatever." She goes to leave and he follows her. _Because_. It is quite shocking to see some rich townie act like some experienced huntsman. He knows she knows he's following her. She gets down to scan her game, and she quietly tells him with a sudden change of mood,

"I ran away."

Gale is confused for a moment, absorbing what the stranger has just said. First, he thinks, _well that was easy. I don't even know her and now she's confessing to me like we didn't have our short argument. _And then he is filled with irritation, realizing this was an affluent young teenager who certainly had everything that everybody didn't. How _shallow_. _Rich kid problems, can never be happy enough to be eating five times a day and never having to worry about getting reaped. _But before he can say something resentful, she continues.

"My mother passed away two days ago, I'm sure you've heard." She is now observing something far away. _Oh, that's right. The mayor's wife was terminally ill and the whole district was talking about her death. Maybe that's why she's in the woods. _He settles himself beside her.

"You shouldn't have run away." He says. Gale knows how horrible losing a parent is, but she was acting quite irresponsible. Her father was probably worried sick looking for his daughter. And not that he cares, but the woods were very dangerous, and this girl might just end up being an avox in the Capitol for all he knows.

She sheds a tear and closes her eyes as he watches her eyebrows wrinkle. She slowly breathes in and there's a short breeze that causes her hair to flow back. He gets a closer look at the ethereality right beside him. Her long eyelashes are wet, and another tear travels through her porcelain face to her pink lips that reminded him of strawberries. He is fascinated at just how delicate she looked, and he fights off the urge to wipe of those tears with his calloused hands.

"My father wants us to move to the Capitol, Gale." He's so transfixed at her; he doesn't even notice that she knows his name. "He wants me to marry some disgusting Capitol freak."

"I don't understand—"

"They promised they would cure her." She opens her eyes as she says this, glancing up at him and then going back to that faraway object she was looking at. "But they didn't. And my dad got furious. He was outraged. He was miserable when my mom died and he called up those useless doctors and demanded they bring her back." Now she seemed void of emotion. "He threatened them and when the president heard of my father's actions, he decided to discipline him. He said that for the next Hunger Games, I would get reaped. That the girls' reaping bowl would contain no one else but me."

That was scary. But Gale knew what that felt like. He knew how to accept that odds were never in his favor, having to take out an incredible number of tesserae to feed his family. He always knew he would get reaped. This, however, was terrifying. Especially for the mayor's daughter. She was appointed tribute without a second thought, just because of her father's temper and stupidity.

"The only way we could get out of this mess was to move to the Capitol, and that was impossible if I refused to marry." The softness now fled, replaced by anger. "I wanted to just run away but my father won't listen! He won't listen! All he would say is that the Capitol would solve everything; that the Capitol was the answer, but it wasn't! The Capitol is evil and they were the reason for everything my family had to suffer! I hate them! I hate them so much!"

She wouldn't stop shouting and Gale was astonished. First he saw sassiness. And then fragility. Now it's rage and he can't help but wonder what's next.

"I know it's selfish to run away. I have no idea how my father would react to this, and yes, during the reaping, when my name gets called, no one would answer and some other poor kid would have the misfortune to take my place, but I have had enough of this crazy world! I think I've been through enough grief and fear and I don't even care anymore what happens if I run out into the rest of the Panem. At least I could die outside that arena."

Just as he tries to reflect on what she's just said, the girl stands up and wipes away her tears with the back of her hands, sniffing her nose. Gale stands up too. "You're alright." He says with all sincerity.

"Thanks for listening to me, Mister Hunter." She says, half-weeping, half-giggling.

"You're welcome, princess." They stay that way, looking at each other genuinely and fulfillingly until suddenly she crashes her lips to his, tiptoeing so she could reach him as she places her hands on his chest. He is stunned for a second but then kisses her back, her lips tasting satisfyingly like strawberries. He touches her chin while his other hand holds her waist, trying to treasure the moment, as he knows it might never happen again.

As if hearing his thoughts, she breaks away, and then nibbles on her lower lip. "I've always wanted to try that out." She admits.

He's about to say some witty reply but then she takes off hurriedly, grabbing her arrow from her game and the bow. She halts and sharply turns around. "Have a nice life." And with that she leaves before he could follow.

And Gale debates on going after her.

But he doesn't.


End file.
